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'La-La Land,' now the dictionary definition of Los Angeles

March 25, 2011 | 7:15
pm

The Oxford English Dictionary made some stellar updates on March 24, which are now online. For instance, "e-mail" is now "email." You can now, with reference to the OED, eat a banh mi sandwich or a taquito. And FYI (newly added), OMG is there too -- and it dates back to 1917. (OMG!).

But then there's this: La-La Land is in the newest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, and it defines our fair city. Here's the definition:

la-la land n. can refer either to Los Angeles (in which case its etymology is influenced by the common initialism for that city), or to a state of being out of touch with reality—and sometimes to both simultaneously.

What is it, the sun, the palm trees, the nightclubs, the limos, the fact that Spiderman can get arrested on Hollywood Boulevard? Do we deserve this (new word) smack-talking from a bunch of dictionary writers? Maybe they should all be wearing (new word) tinfoil hats.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: A man dressed as Spiderman is arrested in 2009 for outstanding misdemeanor offenses after an alleged assult on Hollywood Boulevard. Credit: Mel Melcon / LA Times